How the river Pados will withstand climate change

The Padua crosses almost the entire northern part of the country, from west to east, and empties into the Adriatic Sea. The river has gone through a lot in recent decades: interventions to make it navigable and changes in the riverbed, so that hydropower plants and agriculture are served. But climate change is exacerbating human-caused disasters.

Drought is a major problem, says Julia Davolio, a former councilor in the Sucara community: “Several tributaries have been covered with sand. However, they are extremely critical for the habitats, because birds and fish breed here. The alignment works increased the flow velocity of the river. “Today the tides from Piedmont reach our places in just two days, instead of four, five or six as they used to be.”

The riparian areas should act as a sponge

The Italian government intends to allocate almost 360 million euros from the Recovery Fund for the restoration of the ecosystem. A joint plan has been drawn up with the World Wide Fund for Nature, says Andrea Agapito Ludovic of the international NGO:

“Our goal is to shield the ecosystem so that it can cope with the effects of climate change. The areas around the river should again be able to act as a sponge and absorb large amounts of water when it rains a lot. In this way the level of the aquifer increases and there are stocks in periods of drought “.

Roberto Guccon, a volunteer with the World Wide Fund for Nature, also focuses on the big problem of drought: “It’s not raining at all this year. We had some rain and snow, but it was minimal. The water level is too low and this has consequences for the flora on the banks “.

DW

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